Getting A Life
by ziva2012
Summary: Sam has always hoped to get a life. Now she gets a chance.
1. Chapter 1

"Getting A Life" by Ziva

"When humans get together they also connect with music or sound, Jack," Daniel pointed out as they made their way back to the stargate.

"Sure! Like at a concert or even in church," Sam offered, beginning to see similarities between these odd little people and humans.

"That's right," Daniel acknowledged, glad that she was getting the point of his discussion. As usual Jack was silent at first, his more slowly-operating brain ruminating over what the others were saying.

Daniel sometimes wondered if Jack O'Neill was just too busy thinking...a habit he criticized in his 2iC...to voice an opinion. It seemed to Daniel that Jack liked for people, including his team mates, to think he was stupid and shallow, when in fact he was very deep.

"I once encountered a race of beings that communicated only with blinks of their eyes...they had over twenty eyes each," Teal'c related, and the others expressed their shock with various responses. Even Jack had something to say on the subject, although it was only one of his smart-assed comments.

"So I guess that old cliché 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' really took on a whole new meaning on that planet, hey Teal'c?"

"Indeed," he replied, but he gave O'Neill a look of disdain, as though he thought the man was crazy or worse.

Sam smiled at Jack's ludicrous comment, but she kept her head down, watching the terrain as she walked ahead of her teammates. And Jack kept his eyes on her six...watching as her butt muscles flexed under the thin, green cloth of her bdu's.

"At least no one would have been labeled 'old four eyes,'" Daniel remarked with a snort, recalling his college days, when he had received that moniker from members of the football team. The old memory was unsettling and one he hadn't thought about for years. It was much nicer to be an adult, where one was valued for their brains and not their brawn, he decided. Without thinking he pushed his eye glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I bet playing 'Hide and Seek' would be a challenge for beings with so many eyes," Sam snickered, joining Jack in his fun.

"Or 'Blind Man Bluff,'" O'Neill added, grinning.

"Or 'Pin the Tail On the Donkey,'" Daniel added, grinning till his eyeglasses slid down his nose.

They were all smiling broadly by now, except for Teal'c.

"I do not understand much of your Earth humor, O'Neill," Teal'c stated, a look of disdain on his large, brown face.

"Sorry, T!" Jack slapped the big Jaffa on the shoulder, and then he cringed as Teal'c reached out to slap him in return. The blow almost knocked Jack to his knees.

"Hey! Not so hard!"

"I am sorry, O'Neill."

"No, you're not!"

"No, I am not," Teal'c stated, but his expression did not change.

"Anyway...to us humans, gathering together and sharing sounds; ie, music, is every bit as important as it is to these beings," Daniel stated, referring to the strange, a-sexual creatures they had just encountered on PJ2-445.

"But there's one big difference, Daniel," Jack said, and the others looked at him...waiting for the joke. Daniel just knew that Jack would have something more to say on the subject, but he never thought it would be something serious.

"These folks actually got sick when the noise, or music if you will, stopped. Humans don't get sick when the music stops," Jack stated simply.

"No, they don't, Jack. But they do get sick when they are deprived of their senses, including the sense of hearing," Daniel informed him.

"You mean like in the sensory deprivation studies that have been conducted," Sam asked.

"Yes, exactly! It has also been proven that infants who are not spoken to or sung to, are much slower to advance than children who are. Plus their physical growth is even believed to suffer," Daniel professed.

"Among the Jaffa it is believed that a mother should sing to her young," Teal'c observed.

"It's the same on Earth, Teal'c. The act of singing to a baby reinforces the bond between the parent and child, as well as stimulates the baby's brain cells," Daniel explained, glad that they were finally having an educated discussion about something for once.

Jack always seemed to have a way of poking fun at everything serious, and Daniel often wondered if humor was the man's way of coping with all the bad things he encountered in his life. As Daniel would have predicted if asked, it didn't take long for Jack to turn the discussion around to something much less serious.

"What say we strengthen our bonds and take in a concert one of these days," Jack suggested, as Sam began to punch in Earth's address on the DHD.

"I would very much like to experience such a phenomenon," Teal'c said.

"It's not so much a phenomenon as a happenin, T," Jack told him.

"I heard that Jimmy Buffett is coming to the Springs soon," Sam said, right before they stepped into the shimmering event horizon.

General Hammond was waiting at the bottom of the gate ramp to greet his premier off-world team.

"SG-1, how'd it go? Are those little people getting back to normal now?"

"Yes, Sir! We came, we made them sick, and then we conquered...well, we made them well again anyway. All in a day's work, Mon General," Jack answered flippantly, swallowing a belch, lest he embarrass himself in front of his team. Sam snickered under her breath and turned her face away, not wanting General Hammond to ask her what was so funny.

George Hammond chuckled at O'Neill's usually glib response. He could always count on the man to try and inject humor into a situation, unless he was thoroughly pissed, and then heaven help anyone who stood in Jack O'Neill's way!

"Good! Then you have my permission to go get checked out by Dr. Frasier. There will be no de-briefing. Just have your reports turned in to me before you leave here today. Oh, and you're on stand down until zero seven hundred Monday. Enjoy your four-day weekend, SG-1!"

"Thank you, Sir!" Jack responded with a tip of his cap, and Sam and Daniel also said their thanks before filing out of the room behind Jack. Teal'c followed along behind them, listening to every word they uttered. He was still trying to understand these odd people, and every day held a new lesson for him.

As they walked down the hallway to the elevator, Sam brought up the subject of the concert again. SG-1 had been in the habit of having what they referred to as 'team nights', but that usually meant a bar-b-que at Jack's house, dinner at O'Malley's Bar and Grill, or a hockey game in town. A rock concert would be a whole new venue for her and her teammates, and Sam really hoped they'd go for the idea.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the things they did together. It was just that she sometimes felt that they were like caged mice, on one of those wheels, always doing the same things and not really growing as a group or as individuals.

In fact, Sam often wondered when she would get a life. Oh, sure, her career was going well, and her job was as exciting as could be! But as a woman...a female of her species...she really had no life at all. In fact, she realized with a start, she was almost like those androgynous creatures on today's planet! And going to a concert with her three teammates would be as close to a date as she'd had in a couple of years, but it was still better than sitting at home by herself.

"So...you want me to get tickets for that Jimmy Buffett concert," she asked hopefully.

"You can count me in," Jack enthused, as he lifted his baseball style cap to run a hand through his perpetually mussed, graying hair. Sam watched him out of the corner of her eye. One of the things she love the most about her Colonel was his unruly, silvered hair!

"I also would like to be counted in," Teal'c responded, and Sam smiled up at him. Teal'c could almost always be counted in, when it came to having a good time.

"Ah...I don't know yet. You'll have to let me know exactly when it is, Sam," Daniel told her.

"What's the matter, Daniel? Your engagement calendar filling up," Jack asked, sarcasm dripping from each word.

"As a matter of fact, it is, Jack. I'm giving a lecture next Saturday at the university in Denver, and I may be going to Washington, D.C. soon to speak to the Joint Chiefs and the President," Daniel announced proudly.

"Daniel, I had no idea you'd become so popular," Jack teased him.

"Make fun of me if you will, but I may just have a plan to get the SGC more funding, Jack," Daniel informed them all.

"Oh, Daniel that would be wonderful," Sam said, giving his arm a squeeze.

Jack noticed the affectionate gesture, and he frowned. He wished she'd touch him like that, but he knew she wouldn't dare. They were CO and 2iC, and Carter's behavior was nothing if not proper. But Daniel, damn him, was a civilian, so Sam could touch him, even hug him if she felt like it! Whether or not she would be permitted to date Daniel, a member of her team, was another matter, and one that Jack hoped would never come up.

"Thanks, Sam," Daniel said, smiling at her till his eyes were just tiny slits.

"I do not understand, DanielJackson. Why must the SGC request money in order to continue operating, when clearly it is a necessary program with which to defend Earth from the Goa'uld and other enemies?"

"A very good question, T," Jack agreed.

"Yes, it is. But you have to remember that the SGC is operated without the knowledge of the general public...the people...the taxpayers, whose money funds all government programs. I don't envy the President, you guys. It must be very hard to find huge sums of money for a program, when you can't tell anyone what the program is or that it even exists!"

"Indeed! I often find the ignorance of Earth's inhabitants on this matter to be most ridiculous. How is it that a civilization can be advanced in so many ways, and yet the people lack the intelligence to accept the existence of intelligent life forms on other planets?"

"Good question again, T," Jack agreed once more. " I think it boils down to prejudice and fear," he added.

"What do you mean, O'Neill?"

"Well, folks here on Earth are somewhat prejudiced. They don't want to believe that man might not be unique or special. For some people it's a religious thing. They believe that man was made in God's image, and therefore man is special. Plus people have always feared what they don't understand, so there's that too."

"Yours seems to be a very narrow-minded race, O'Neill."

"Indeed, Teal'c!"

They had arrived at the infirmary door, and the three automatically went and sat down on the nearest available beds for their routine post-mission exams.

Afterward they separated, Carter going to the womens' locker room to shower and change. As she was going to her lab to write her mission report, Jack caught up with her at the elevator.

"So, looks like it'll just be me and you for that concert...if you still wanna go," Jack said stepping inside the car, as she reached out to press the number of her floor.

Fortunately there was no one else inside the elevator, or else Sam would have felt very uneasy talking to her CO about their plans, particularly in the light of what he was about to tell her.

"Why? I thought Teal'c was going? And Daniel wasn't sure yet," Sam said, looking perplexed.

For once she was the confused one, and it gave Jack's ego a boost to see her face when he told her the next bit.

"I checked the Colorado Springs entertainment calendar on line, and the Parrot Head Tour is next Saturday night, so that leaves Daniel out."

"On line? How did you do that?"

They got off the elevator and turned down the corridor that led to her lab. Apparently the Colonel intended to follow her all the way there, as she puzzled over this new image of him that was beginning to form in her mind. She had never heard Jack say anything about going on the internet, or even about using a computer. So now she was beginning to think she didn't know him half as well as she thought she did!

"I have internet access on my new cell phone. Oh, and Teal'c has decided to go to Chulac to visit his wife and son. I guess he's feeling guilty about having to leave her so soon after they just got back together."

"Oh, ya, I guess I can understand that," Sam said with a little laugh, but in reality she suddenly felt extremely anxious.

Should she even consider going somewhere with her CO? Would going to a concert, however public, be construed as a date? And when exactly did Jack...er...the Colonel begin using the internet? And on his cell phone, for crying out loud! God, now she was even beginning to think like the man...the gorgeous hunk of a man.

'No, Sam, stop thinking things like that, or this WILL turn out to be a bad idea!'

"So, I guess it's just me and you," Jack said again, as though waiting for her to agree or disagree.

So he was leaving the decision up to her. Great! Well, she had just been thinking how she needed to get a life outside of work, but was this the way to do that? Wasn't she asking for trouble, if she went anywhere alone with her CO?

Maybe she should just come right out and tell him what she was thinking. Yes, that was exactly what she should do, she decided. So she sucked in a big breath to calm her nerves and told him what was on her mind.

"Colonel, I don't think that going with you to the concert would be appropriate," Sam told him in no uncertain terms, even though she secretly was hoping he'd give her plenty of reasons why she was wrong.

"Ah, come on, Sam! We won't really be alone. There'll be hundreds of people there! It's just two friends sitting together and listening to music, for cryin out loud!"

"Yes, I know, but..."

"But what?"

"Nothing. I guess it's okay," she finally agreed, but she still didn't feel right about it.

"Okay then! You get the tickets. I'll pick you up at 1800 hours next Saturday. We should probably pick up a pizza and some drinks on the way. The food at that place is terrible," he said, and Sam was too nervous to make any comment at all, even though she thought it was sounding more and more like a date.

"Well, I've got a report to write," Jack said as they got to the door of her lab.

So apparently he wasn't going inside her lab with her, and Sam almost let out a sigh of relief. Contemplating an evening in his company was about all Sam could take for one day!

"Yes, you'd better get it turned in, or you know how mad Hammond will be," Sam warned, reminding Jack of General Hammond's reaction the other times he had tried to shirk that responsibility.

"Right! Okay then, I'll talk to you soon! Have a nice week end doing whatever it is that you do when you're not here," he said, but he still hadn't left her side. After sliding her key card through the lock, she went inside, and Jack followed her.

"That report, Colonel?"

"Ya, about that. I don't suppose you'd be willing to write it for me? Just this once?"

Sam thought he looked so adorable when he was being childish. She knew how much he hated doing any kind of paper work, and in a way she didn't blame him. But at least she was adult enough to know that paper work was just one of those things you had to do, whether you liked it or not!

"Jack...Colonel! Sorry. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to write your report for you, Sir," she told him as she climbed onto a stool facing her laptop.

When she turned around to see what Jack was doing, she found him standing just behind her, looking over her left shoulder.

"Sir! I am not going to let you stand there and read what I write!"

"Okay. I'll leave you alone and go write my report, if you'll come have dinner with me at O'Malley's when we're finished. Everyone knows us there, so it won't be like we're trying to be alone or anything. Please? I'll buy your dinner," he said, pleading with her.

"All right. We'll ask Daniel and Teal'c to go along."

"No can do. They've gone to see mud wrestling in Denver. I figured you wouldn't want to go, so I told them we had other plans."

"You did, did you? Well, okay. This will only take me half an hour. Can you be finished with your report by then?"

"You just watch me," he yelled as he literally ran out of her lab.

Sam laughed, but soon her laughter turned to a frown as she thought about the possible consequences of what they were about to do. Was it her imagination, or was Jack intent upon throwing the two of them together? And when had she begun to think of him as Jack, instead of Colonel O'Neill?

Just as Sam finished her report to General Hammond, she got a phone call that solved her immediate problem. It was an old friend of hers who was in town on business, and he wanted to know if Sam could have dinner with him tonight. And all of a sudden it seemed like she might have a life after all!

Exactly one half hour later Jack was waiting on the surface for Sam. His truck was parked next to Sam's bike, which was a newer Kawasaki cruiser. He knew she also owned a vintage Indian, which was always...or so it seemed...in need of work.

As he leaned against his big, black truck he watched her walk toward him. She was dressed in a pair of tight blue Jeans, a bright orange top and a brown leather jacket, and she was carrying her motorcycle helmet in one hand.

"Why don't we take my truck? I can bring you back for your bike later," Jack offered.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but my plans have changed. An old friend just called me. Mike's in town just for two nights, and he wants me to have dinner with him tonight," she almost bragged, as she threw one leg over her motorcycle.

Jack couldn't help but feel disappointed and jealous of whoever the guy was. He had asked Sam out to dinner first, and now this other guy was horning in on his action!

'Oh, crap, did I just think of my second-in-command as someone I intend to get in the sack? Get your head straight, Jack,' he warned himself.

"That's okay, Carter; he can come along," Jack said, making a smooth recovery.

He wasn't sure when he'd begun thinking of Carter as anything other than a fellow officer. Oh, hell, that wasn't true! If he was honest with himself, he'd thought of her as a totally hot, attractive woman the first time he saw her!

"Eh...okay, I guess that would be all right with Mike. In fact I think you'll like him, Colonel. He reminds me a lot of you," she told him, and Jack's eyebrows shot up in a look of surprise.

What did she mean by that comment, Jack wondered, but he decided to just wait and see.

"Great! So, come on. We can pick him up, if he needs a lift," Jack offered, feeling a little better about the situation. At least he'd have the pleasure of her company, and the other guy would know that she had someone in her life.

'There you go again, thinking of Carter as your property, when she isn't!'

"No, thanks, Colonel. I'd like to go home and change first," she told him, turning the key to start her bike. The little engine roared to life as she turned the throttle a couple of times

"Okay, I'll follow you to your house, and we can leave from there," he offered, and Sam smiled at him...that huge, mega-watt smile he loved so much.

She could see she wasn't going to get rid of the Colonel so easily, so why not let him tag along? After all, she really wasn't interested in Mike that way...not like she was interested in Jack.

'There you go again! Stop thinking of the Colonel in that way, Sam, or there's going to be hell to pay,' her sensible brain warned her libido.

"Okay. See you there," she said right before she zoomed away, slowly down only momentarily as she passed through the check point.

Jack watched her drive away, shaking his head at the sight of his lovely, feminine 2iC as she rode the motorcycle like a pro. She certainly was a contradiction; Sam was the epitome of femininity and beauty in appearance, but underneath she was as tough as a lot of guys he knew. And Jack figured his attraction to her was two-fold as well; he didn't just admire her external beauty, he also admired her strengths, both spiritual and physical.

'Jack, old man, I'd say you are in love,' he told himself. But he just shook his head, pushing the ridiculous thought to the back of his brain and burying it under a pile of the day's most recent musings.

He drove more slowly than usual, figuring he'd give her time to change and not have to hang out on her doorstep waiting. When he got there, Sam was just putting her earrings on in front of the hall mirror. The front door was ajar, so Jack stood there on her porch watching her fiddle with the tiny diamond studs. She had one in her left ear, but she was obviously having trouble with the right one. Then she dropped the back of the earring, and swore as she bent down to locate it.

Jack jumped to the rescue, scooping up the little silver piece in his long, elegant fingers and handing it to her.

"Here ya go!"

"Thanks! I should have put them on in the bathroom," she observed, finally getting the back screwed on. "There!"

"Beautiful...earrings. And you don't look so bad either," he said with a smile, as he took in her floral skirt and the soft sweater set. He noticed also that she seemed taller than usual, and so he looked down at her feet and saw that she was wearing high heels.

Sam looked at him, their eyes locking for just an instant, and she suddenly felt a thrill of excitement run up and down her spine. He was standing just out of her personal space, but she could easily see the dark brown irises of his eyes, their color seeming even darker in the dim light of the foyer. She loved his eyes...always had...from the first moment she saw him in that briefing room less than two years earlier.

"Thank you, Sir. I'm ready, Sir, if you'd like to go now?"

"Oh, yeah! So, do we need to pick Mike up?"

Sam followed him outside and locked the front door. Then she walked along with him to his truck, which was parked out front by the curb.

"No, actually he's meeting us there."

"Sure he won't get lost, Carter?"

"No, not likely, Sir. He was stationed at Peterson at one time."

"So he's in the Air Force? When you said he was in town on business, I just assumed..."

"Mike was Air Force, but he's not now. Actually, Sir, he was dishonorably discharged almost two years ago," she said, and Jack gave her an astonished look.

Somehow Jack couldn't imagine Sam being friends with anyone who would do something to get himself into that kind of trouble. She seemed so straight-laced when it came to the military.

"Oh?"

"I may as well tell you, but don't say anything to him about it. It's still a sore subject with him," Sam confided as Jack steered the big truck away from the curb, careful not to clip her car which was parked at the curb.

"I won't say a word, Sam. Honest!"

"Well, he and Sandra had an affair. I knew both of them...her dad knew my dad, and we all hung out together. But Mike was under her command. And when they got caught, she insisted that he was totally to blame, and he didn't put up a fight because he was in love with her and didn't want to ruin her career."

"She got a reprimand, and he got the ax. Although he was lucky he didn't have to serve any time, he did lose his career and his pension. Needless to say, their relationship ended badly. I haven't spoken to Sandra since then, but I've heard she's a Lt. Colonel now and is stationed in the Middle East. Mike is a rep for a pharmaceutical company based in LA. They may be opening a new plant here."

"Ouch! That was pretty harsh of her," Jack observed, his mind dwelling on what the poor guy had lost, and Sam nodded agreement.

"Yes. I guess it just goes to show you never really know someone as well as you think. I wonder if Mike's over her yet," Sam remarked, and Jack turned to look at her profile as they sat at a traffic light.

"And if he is? Are you interested?"

"In Mike? Oh, my, no! Mike and I are just friends! Thinking of him in that way would be like me thinking of..."

She stopped herself before stating the obvious, but she felt that Jack knew exactly what she had almost said.

"I thought maybe you were hoping to get a life, Carter," Jack said, a smug smile forming on his handsome face.

He had known exactly what she had almost said, and he was pleased to see that the idea of saying it made her nervous. It was only on rare occasions when he saw this side of her...nervous and unsure of herself.

But then Jack recalled what she had told him about Mike and the facts behind his dishonorable discharge. Was Sam identifying with Mike when she considered what could happen between them? Was that why she was so wary of putting herself into any situation that might look untoward?

Suddenly he wondered if he was doing the right thing by going to dinner with them. If Mike suspected that he was interested in Sam, would he remind her of the dangers she could face if she became involved with her CO?

"You know, I think I'm just gonna drop you off, if you don't mind. Mike can drive you home," Jack said as they pulled into O'Malley's parking lot.

"Oh...okay. Aren't you feeling well, Sir?"

"Nah, it's not that. I just don't wanna ruin your reunion, that's all. You two have a great time together, and I'll see you on Monday," he told her as the truck came to a halt by the front entrance.

"All right, if you're sure. Good-night, Sir," she said, before climbing out of the truck.

She slid to the ground and slammed the big door shut, before watching Jack drive away. Then she straightened her skirt and shrugged her shoulders, thinking that Jack certainly was hard to figure out sometimes. Maybe she had been imagining his unprofessional interest in her. Maybe she was reading more into his behavior, because of how she felt about him. Now that just wouldn't do at all!

Sam decided right then that she was NOT going to that concert with the Colonel. She'd find some excuse and get out of it.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sam was sitting in her car on the base parking lot early on Friday afternoon, just staring out at the mountains in the distance, her mind spinning with the problem she faced. She was leaving early for the second day in a row. Finding an excuse not to go to the Jimmy Buffett concert with the Colonel was occupying too much of Sam's time, and it was becoming increasingly hard for her to concentrate on her work, so she had decided to give up and just go home...again.

'If only the guys could go with us,' she thought for the umpteenth time, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

And since she'd never been good at lying to her CO, or to anyone for that matter, Sam finally decided just to tell Jack the truth...well, most of it. She could never tell him how she really felt about him...how attracted she was to him. For to do so would be to open a giant can full of the largest, creepiest, crawliest worms ever, and she'd never be able to stuff back in their container!

So with a resolute sigh, she pressed the number two on her cell phone speed dial. His phone rang only once before he answered.

"Carter? What's up?"

"I won't be able to go to the concert with you on Saturday after all, Sir. Something's come up," she told him vaguely, kicking herself for not following through on her promise to tell him at least a partial truth. Instead of honoring their friendship with at least part of the truth, here she was digging a chasm between them.

"What? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, Sir. There's just something else I have to do," she lied, digging the hole a little deeper, and then she bit her bottom lip and held it between her teeth.

Did he believe her, or did he see through her weak excuse? She could hear the curiosity in his voice and definitely the disappointment.

"Okay. Well, I guess if you can't go, you can't go. That's too bad. It was a good idea though, so we'll try to do it some other time, Carter."

"Yes, some other time...when we can all go," she said, stressing the word 'all', a big part of her wanting him to know the truth...a truth which she had only recently admitted to herself.

And the truth was that she just didn't trust herself enough to be alone with him...sitting on a blanket, under the Colorado night sky, listening to the strains of songs that would probably put them at ease and maybe lead to touching and kissing and...Holy Hannah!...a lot of other things she couldn't even dare to imagine!

And so they had ended their conversation, and Sam had driven home feeling sad, disappointed and lonely. When would she ever have a real life? A boyfriend? A husband and kids? Were those things not meant for someone like her?

And why in the hell was she falling head over heels for her commanding officer? Was it just because he was convenient? Of course it hadn't escaped her that Jack was also very good looking, but was that all it was? Just an infatuation with the nearest, hot guy?

Sam shook herself out of her quandary and decided not to waste her entire afternoon thinking about things that would never be. Instead she decided to stop at the grocery store and do some shopping, something she rarely took the time to do since she'd begun spending just about all her free time at the base.

Eager to find something new to try or something that would remind her that it was actually summer up here on the surface, Sam began pushing the grocery cart down the produce aisle, picking out a selection of fresh items she rarely ate in her seclusion on base.

A nice selection of fresh fruit would be a welcome change from all the K rations and commissary food she usually ate. Sam decided a fresh pineapple and grilled chicken on the bar-b-que would certainly taste good with one of these bottles of white wine, she thought as she looked at the display of California wine on sale. Just as she selected a chardonnay and put it in the cart, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"That's a good choice, Carter. Having company for dinner?"

Sam swung around, the expression of shock clearly evident on her face.

"Colonel! What are you doing here," she almost shouted.

"I have to shop for groceries too, you know. Actually I don't usually shop in this part of town, but they're having a great sale on fresh trout. So I stopped by on my way home to buy some," he told her, pushing his cart up alongside hers.

They walked along together for a minute in silence, as Sam tried to think of something to say to him.

"I'm out of everything," she finally said.

"Ahhh. Don't stay at home much?"

"Actually, no I don't," she admitted, reaching for one of the yellow, Hawaiian pineapples that were also on sale this week.

"That one's a little over-ripe, Sam. Take this one," he said, handing her a fruit. She exchanged the one she had chosen for the one he handed her without question. Then she wondered how he knew so much about such things as the ripeness of pineapples.

"Since when did you become an expert on fresh fruit, Sir," she asked, and then she worried that her question may have sounded sarcastic, when she didn't really mean it that way. "Sorry. I just meant..."

"No problem, Carter. I possess a lot of hidden knowledge and talents," he said with a smirk. "Actually, I dated a gal from Hawaii for a while. She taught me a lot...about pineapples and stuff," he said, leaving his comment open for interpretation.

Sam looked at him out of the corner of her eye and saw his grin. So maybe he had intended his remark to be sexually suggestive, just as she imagined! Was it her imagination, or was he flirting with her?

She watched as he picked up a 5 lb. bag of baking potatoes. He raised his eyebrows at her and she nodded, so he put one bag in her cart and selected a second bag for himself.

"What are you going to do with it," he asked, and it took Sam several seconds for his question to make any sense.

"Oh! The pineapple? I'm going to put part of it on the grill with some chicken. And I like to make a marinade out of pineapple juice, soy sauce and garlic for the chicken, before grilling it over mesquite. I'll probably use the rest in a salad...maybe a fresh fruit salad with bananas, mandarin oranges, coconut, maraschino cherries, miniature marshmallows and whipped topping," she said, her mouth beginning to water at the thought of having a real home-cooked meal for a change. Even if she had to prepare it herself, it would taste much better than the commissary food!

"That sounds really good! I never figured you for much of a cook, Carter," Jack told her as he selected a bunch of bananas for her salad. He handed them to her and she gratefully accepted them, thinking how odd it seemed that he'd decided to help her do her shopping.

"Oh, I can cook, Colonel. I just don't have much time for it. You know how it is," she stated vaguely.

Jack knew exactly how it was with her, and that was why he doubted she really had anything else she had to do tomorrow night. Of course there had been Mike. Maybe he was still in town, and maybe Carter had decided he looked better to her than he had in the past...what with the decreasing number of single males available to a woman her age.

'A woman her age? You should talk, old man; you're a hell of a lot older than Carter is,' he reminded himself, although the statistics probably weren't in her favor.

"So...are you seeing that Mike guy again tomorrow night," he asked as they waited their turn at the butchers' counter.

"No! Mike was only here two nights. I thought I told you that," she said, and then added "Sir" as an afterthought.

"I just thought maybe he decided to stay in town longer, and he was your reason for bailing out on me for tomorrow night."

"No! He's not. Look, Colonel, about that... I really don't have anything I have to do tomorrow night. It's just that..."

"Great! Then we'll go! And I've got an even better idea! Why don't you bring your pineapple and chicken marinade to my house tomorrow at about four. We'll cook, eat, and then head out to the concert!"

Jack was so enthusiastic that Sam didn't have the heart...or the desire...to tell him 'no', so she agreed, smiling uneasily as she watched him step up to the counter and place his order. After he collected his wrapped fish and some steaks, she selected a chicken, which she had the butcher cut into quarters.

They finished the remainder of their shopping on their own, after agreeing that she would be at his house the next day at 1600 hours. As she loaded her purchases into the trunk of her car, she watched for him to come out of the store. Now that she had spent most of the last hour in his company, she couldn't seem to get enough of seeing him!

But Jack wasn't parked near her, so when he did come out, he headed toward his truck without looking her way. Part of her wanted to yell at him across the parking lot, just to say 'good-bye' or 'see you' or something, but she decided that would just seem too obvious and way too childish.

'My God, isn't it bad enough that you're going to his house for a cook out...all alone! And then you're going to a concert with him! Holy Hannah, what have you gotten yourself into!'

The remainder of that day and part of the next seemed to fly by, and soon Sam found herself on her way to Jack's house, as nervous as a girl going on her very first date. She had taken forever to decide what to wear, finally settling on a pair of short white shorts and a buttercup yellow halter top that showed just a bit of cleavage and a lot of bare midriff. She brought along a white cardigan to wear when the night time temperature dipped low after dark, as it had a habit of doing in the Rockies. A pair of white sandals with flat heels, and dainty, yellow and white daisy-shaped earrings, completed her outfit.

Jack was on the back deck of his house when he thought he heard the doorbell chiming. He stepped down into the yard and walked to the back corner of the house. He could see Sam's car parked on the street out front.

"Sam! Sam, come around back," he yelled, and almost immediately he saw her coming around the side of the house toward him. She looked so hot that Jack turned back to the deck, willing the blood that was quickly rushing to his groin to do an about face.

"Hey! I was just lighting the fire," he told her as she followed him up the steps and onto the deck. "I'll take that and put it in the refrigerator until the fire's hot," he offered, taking the covered dish out of her hands.

"Want a beer? Or a glass of wine. I got a bottle of that chardonnay," he said as he stepped inside the house. Jack breathed a smile sigh of relief, as he realized that Sam hadn't followed him into the kitchen. Maybe he'd have time to calm down, and she wouldn't notice his not so little problem.

"A beer will be fine for now. I'll have wine with dinner," she said, standing hesitantly in the open doorway.

Sam didn't quite know what to do with herself, but finally she followed him inside. It wasn't that she'd never been to his house before, but their teammates had always been there with them. She watched as he put the dish containing the chicken into the refrigerator.

He bent down to reach for the beer, and she couldn't help but notice how great his ass looked. His dark blue jeans were a little tighter than the pants he usually wore, and Sam really liked the way they showed off his firm thighs and slender waist too. Jack may have been quite a bit older than her, but he certainly wasn't letting himself get out of shape, she thought as she brazenly stared at him.

Well, of course being in the military required that he stay fit for the most part. But Sam imagined that Jack would always be firm and trim, no matter what line of work he chose.

She quickly glanced away as he turned to hand her a bottle of beer, lest she be caught staring at his ass.

"Here ya go, Sam," he said, and Sam's heart did a little happy dance at hearing him call her by her first name for the second time that week. He almost always called her Carter, and though she didn't mind, she would prefer it if he called her Sam or maybe even Samantha.

"Thank you, Sir."

"No. Thank you, Jack," he corrected her, and she smiled as she felt herself begin to blush. "We're not on duty, so it's okay for you to call me Jack."

"Sorry. Old habits," she said before taking a sip of her beer.

"The grill will be hot enough in a few minutes. In the meantime, I thought I'd scrub a couple of potatoes and nuke them. Want one?"

"Sure! A baked potato would go good with the chicken, S...Jack," she said, catching herself just in time.

"What do you like on yours? I've got real butter, sour cream, bacon bits, grated cheddar cheese, chives," he listed, and Sam's mouth began to water.

"All of the above, please," she said, smiling and he laughed.

"I see great minds think alike, Sam," he said as he began washing the potatoes.

She stood beside him and watched, not sure what she could do to help.

"Do you think we need another vegetable," he asked as he dried the potatoes with a paper towel, before pricking them with a fork.

"Oh, golly, not for me! But if you want something else, feel free."

"I think some broccoli would be good. Will you get the bag out of the freezer, Sam, and put some in a small casserole dish. You'll find one in that lower cabinet behind you. Better put enough in for yourself, in case you change your mind," he suggested.

Sam did as he asked, and soon it was time for him to put the chicken on the grill. So while he did that, Sam took care of the microwave cooking.

Before long they were sitting down to eat at the wooden table in his back yard. Sam had always loved Jack's yard, because of the forested area toward the back. Today she could hear all sorts of birds chirping and singing, and it reminded her of the last time she had been here for a cookout with Daniel and Teal'c.

"To us and to absent friends," he said, raising his wine glass and touching it to hers.

"Yes, to all of us," she said inanely, wishing she had thought of something more eloquent to say.

"So do you think that Daniel's plan will help the SGC secure more funding?"

"You never know. It certainly can't hurt," Jack said through a mouthful of grilled chicken.

He was finding Sam's recipe mighty tasty. It made him wonder what other hidden talents the girl possessed!

"This is really good chicken, Sam! Is it your own recipe?"

"No, I saw it in a magazine. They used the same marinade on shrimp too. You know, the big ones from the Gulf?"

"Oh, ya, tiger shrimp! I love those things. You know me and my buddies used to go down to Mexico to go deep sea fishing. And before we came home, we always bought about twenty pounds of tiger shrimp each to sell to people we knew. Have you ever been to Mexico, Sam?"

It seemed that now that he had begun using her first name, he was going to keep on doing it. And Sam was certainly not complaining!

"No. But I'd like to go one day. I just don't know when I'll have the time."

"Your job has become your life," he said, echoing her thoughts, and she nodded.

He got it! Even without her saying one word, he knew exactly how she felt!

"Yes, exactly!"

"And your job is not all you want out of life, is it, Sam?"

"No! No way! I want much more, Jack." She downed her second glass of wine and held her empty glass out for more, beginning to feel very relaxed in his company.

"What else do you want," he asked as he filled her glass.

"I want to go out and have some fun! I want to marry, and I want kids...two or three of them! And I want to have the time to enjoy my kids...to take them places...to teach them about Earth and other planets...to teach them about all the fascinating things out there," she said, her eyes shining.

"All worthwhile dreams, Sam. And I think you'll do all of that...in time."

And though he didn't say it, he hoped he'd be a big part of her dreams. Ya, being the father of her kids would suit him just fine, he thought, as he looked at her dreamy expression. Right about now he wanted to give her those dreams and the stars!

"I hope so, Sir. Jack. I really hope so."

"Now I think we'd better clean up this mess and get ready to leave, if we want to get a good location on the lawn," he said, getting up from the wooden bench.

"Oh, my God, Sir! I forgot to get the tickets!"

"You did? Oh, well, no worries. I'm sure there'll be room for two more," he said as they began to take their dishes into the house.

In reality he'd been hoping she hadn't purchased tickets, and that therefore things might work out the way he wanted. And just as he hoped, when they got to the outdoor venue, all the tickets were sold, and the folding chairs and the grassy lawn was beginning to fill up with people.

Jack acted quickly, knowing exactly what to do. He was determined that Sam was going to get her concert, and he was going to get Sam for the evening...and maybe for much, much longer.

Steering his four-wheel-drive truck off the road, he drove over the uneven ground until he got to the far side of the property. Then he drove up onto this little hill and turned the truck around, so that they were facing away from the stadium.

"Okay, Sam, now let's make ourselves comfortable," he told her, and she looked at him curiously as he climbed out of the vehicle.

At first when he had stopped the truck, she had no idea what he was planning, but as soon as she got out and looked down the hill, she got it! From here they had a perfect view of the stage! And even though the music wouldn't be quite as loud, they would still be able to hear perfectly!

Sam looked up and saw that Jack was already in the bed of the truck. So she walked up to the tailgate and turned around, intending to hop up and sit on it. Behind her Jack was spreading out the blankets he had brought along for them to sit on. He had also brought some pillows and a small cooler containing a six-pack of beer and a couple of bags of snacks.

"Jack, help!" She held her hands up over her head, looking back over her shoulder at him.

He came over and grabbed her outstretched hands, pulling her up onto the tailgate with great ease, as though she weighed nothing. She giggled as he let go of her hands.

"This reminds me of when I was little, Jack. Mom and Dad used to take me and Mark to the drive-in theater," she told him, crawling toward the back of the cab, where Jack had placed the pillows for them to lean against.

Jack handed her a beer and got one for himself. Then he sat down and watched as the crowd took their seats on the folding chairs and on the lawn behind the chairs.

He was glad he had remembered to bring plenty of blankets and pillows, just in case they had to park out here. This wasn't the first time he had sat on this hill and listened to a concert, but the last time had been quite a while ago, when Sara was pregnant with Charlie. That time had been very special, but this time was too, because Sam was here with him.

Sam leaned back and looked up at the sky, which was not quite dark yet. She moaned and stretched as she looked all around, trying to find the first star to make it's appearance.

"This is wonderful, Jack," she sighed.

"I'm glad you like it, Sam," he admitted as he leaned back, resting his head very near hers.

They were shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, and both were enjoying the closeness this evening was providing them. And probably due to the wine she had drunk earlier, Sam was not feeling very concerned about what might happen tonight or in the future. In fact she wasn't thinking much, for once, about anything! She was just enjoying herself more than she had in a long, long time.

"I think you've done this before, Jack O'Neill," she murmured lazily, as the strains of the first song could be heard after the applause had died away.

"A very astute deduction, Samantha," he drawled, and Sam felt a chill run up her spine, and it wasn't from any chill in the air, even though it was beginning to cool down as night fell.

Thirty minutes or so into the show Jack noticed Sam shivering with almost every breath. He sat up and reached for the blanket he had saved to cover them when the air got cooler. It seemed like that time had come, so he shook it out and spread it over both of them, only covering them from the waist down.

"Is that better, Sam?"

She had already put her cardigan on and slipped her sandals off, and the blanket was the perfect addition. Feeling reckless, she thought of one other thing that could warm her up really fast. However, petting with her CO was not something she dared suggest, but now she'd be lucky to get the tormenting thought out of her head any time soon!

"Mmmm," she said, moaning her approval and thanks, as she brazenly dropped her head to his shoulder.

Jack, who had been thinking pretty much the same thing as her, wondered if she'd resist if he put his arm around her. She certainly seemed relaxed, so he decided the only way to find out was to try it.

"Lift up," he said.

She raised her head, looking at him questioningly, and Jack slid his arm behind her. Sam leaned back, her head now on his arm, her body nestled to his. She put her hand on his chest, not knowing what else to do with it. Then she looked up at him again, his eyes appearing like deep, black pools...the kind she could drown in...unless she pulled back from the edge immediately.

Feeling like she was falling, she glanced away, fear reigning her emotions.

Suddenly all the reluctance she had felt, about coming on this date with her CO, shot to the forefront. Sam jolted upright, pulling away from him. Jack sat up too, leaning toward her.

"Sam, what's wrong," he asked in a hushed voice, his breath on the back of her neck.

"We can't do this! I have to go, Sir!"

"Sam, no! We both know why we're here, so why not let it happen? Tomorrow we can go back to being just two officers who work together, but tonight I want us to be more than that. Much more! I know you want it too," he said, his hand latching onto her wrist.

She turned around to face him, but she didn't try to pull out of his grasp.

"It may be what we both want, Sir, but it's against regulations," she reminded him, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Don't you think I know that, Sam? Hell, I've thought about nothing else for months! I've laid awake at night wishing there was some acceptable way for us to be together, but we both know that, for now, there's not.

So why can't we have it both ways? When we're on duty, we are CO and 2iC and nothing more. But when we're not on duty, then we take what we want from life. When you consider that we put our lives on the line every single day for the rest of the planet, I think we deserve that much, don't you?"

He could see she was considering his words, and Jack felt encouraged when she didn't try to pull further away from him.

"I guess you have a point, but can you live like that...knowing that if we get caught, we will be court marshaled?"

"I guess I should be asking YOU that question. After all, my career is about over anyway. I've climbed about as far as I'm gonna go, what with my questionable record. But you...you haven't even begun! So, Sam, I gotta ask...am I worth it to you?"

Sam was pensive for a minute before she answered.

"Would it sound harsh to say that I'm not sure, Colonel? I mean how can I judge the product, when I've never even tried it," she asked, her dimples making an appearance in her smiling face.

She looked like the cat who had just discovered her ability to open the bird cage door!

"If that means what I think it means, then get back here! You've got some sampling to do," he growled, as he pulled her back into his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The stars were shining on a sea of black velvet as Jack and Sam lay in the back of his pick-up truck listening to the distant sounds of Jimmy Buffett singing "Margaritaville".

They had just decided to throw caution to the Colorado winds and begin an affair which was against military regulations. And when, after months of wanting and needing, they finally came together, it was like two cyclones joining to made one hell of a storm!

Jack pulled her onto her back and encircled her with his arms, one hand cupping the back of her head, while the other slid southward to squeeze her firm, shapely ass. Their mouths came together in a flurry of kisses, as they tested different angles of approach like two pilots doing recon for a hazardous landing.

Sam moaned in response as she felt the bulge in his jeans pressing into her belly, his much heavier body pushing her down onto the hard surface below. Her hands began doing a little exploring of their own, sliding up under his T-shirt, her short nails raking over the skin of his back, before one hand deftly unsnapped his jeans and pulled the zipper down a bit. The hand insinuated itself down between their bodies and inside his Jockies to wrap around his rock-hard member. Jack growled, pulling her hand out with a mumbled warning that was mostly swallowed by a kiss.

"Too much, Sam. Save it for later," he said, as he plundered her mouth with his.

His lips crushed hers at first, until she opened her mouth and let his tongue poke and slick across her teeth, gums and palate. As he tasted her sweetness, she swallowed her moans and his, trying to accept as much of him into her mouth as was humanly possible. But soon this was not enough for either of them. She wanted him inside her, but not like this.

Made bold by the wine she had drunk at dinner and by the beer she had just finished, Sam used a level three fighting maneuver and threw him onto his back. Then she swung her legs over his hips and sat down, pinning his erection beneath her body. Hungrily she began to explore Jack's neck with her lips and teeth, gently biting the smooth skin and then following the nips with licks to soothe the abraded spots. Jack's neck was one of the parts of his body which had most fascinated her, and she intended...now that his permission had been given...to taste and nibble every square inch of it!

Jack, on the other hand, had creamy, white body parts on his mind, namely the full, perky breasts of his 2iC. Pulling ineffectively on the fake tie at the back of her neck, Jack became frustrated by his inability to get the damn thing undone.

"Christ," he hissed between gritted teeth.

"No, it doesn't untie," she said as she sat up and grabbed the bottom of the stretchy halter top and pulled it up over her head. She tossed it aside and looked at Jack who was staring at her chest like a starving man sitting down to a Thanksgiving feast at the local charity hall.

Sam crawled forward, so that her breasts hung down over his face, teasing him by dipping and swaying...her nipples enticingly close but not close enough...until Jack grabbed hold of her arms and held her still.

"Damn, but you're a tease," he said before latching his lips around a turgid peak.

"Always," Sam agreed before groaning in approval, as she felt Jack's warm, wet mouth tormenting her flesh. Then he sucked really hard, and Sam gushed in response, her copious fluids drenching her panties. She needed to feel him inside her soon or she would go crazy, she thought as he continued his sweet torture.

Switching to her other breast, Jack cupped the creamy melon in one hand, fingers splayed around it, before sucking in as much of it as he could. Sam's back arched and she ground her body down on him in a natural response. They both groaned.

"I want to feel you inside me, Jack," she hissed, as Jack continued to suck her breasts, first one and then the other, until her nipples were dark red and tender.

Jack wrapped his arms around her and rolled, pining Sam under him once again. But then he got up on his knees and straddled her thighs, reaching for the waistband of her shorts. She helped him to unfastened the button and zipper, before lifting her hips so he could slide the shorts down her long legs. Careful not to kick them out of the truck, she pushed the discarded clothing aside with her foot, and settled back to watch Jack's face as he gazed down at her almost nude form. Sam felt herself blush when she realized what he was looking at.

"I didn't know anyone actually wore these things," he said, running a finger under the strap of her white, satin thong.

"Of course they do," she said, lifting her hips suggestively as Jack traced over the skin just above the tiny scrap of fabric that comprised the crotch of her panty.

Grateful for the moonlight that aloud him to view his earthly goddess, Jack studied her body like a painter studies a model before he begins to sketch. Then he made what Sam thought was a strange request.

"Turn over," he said to Sam's surprise. She didn't move at first, so he made the request again. "Turn over. I want to see how it looks from behind."

Sam gave him a curious smirk, thinking that his request was a bit odd, but feeling just relaxed enough to consent to whatever he wanted. She turned over, resting her head on her crossed arms. Jack brushed his fingers and then the palm of his hand over her bare derriere, and Sam felt goose bumps rise all over her body at his feather-light touch.

"Sweet," he said, his voice reflecting his obvious pleasure at finally seeing the delectable ass he had walked along behind for so many months. From now on when he 'watched Sam's six', at least he would know exactly how it looked under those bdu's!

Her legs were just slightly separated now, but Jack nudged them apart with one knee before leaning over her to place soft, wet kisses across her shoulders, down her spine and across her butt.

His warm breath tickled her skin, giving her goose bumps once again, and Sam giggled. Jack stopped kissing her and rose up on his knees.

"No giggling," he told her with authority, as he sat down next to her and quickly stripped off his jeans and Jockies.

"Then stop tickling me," she said, looking back over her shoulder at him.

The moonlight was sufficient for her to see him as he got up on his knees again and turned toward her. Sam quickly laid back down, the image of Jack's erect penis burned into her brain. Holy Hannah! He was larger than any man she had ever seen, except for a few pictures in a Penthouse Magazine when she was in high school, that is, and suddenly Sam felt uncertain about doing this. What if it wouldn't fit? What if it hurt?

"Jack?"

"Ya, baby," he replied as his long fingers hooked under the straps of her thong and began to pull it down.

Sam clinched her thighs together, and Jack stopped and bent over to press a kiss to top of her right buttocks.

"I haven't had sex in a long while," she said, hoping he'd understand her concerns.

"I'll be gentle," he promised. "It's nothing to worry about. Piece of cake," he assured her, and he literally licked his lips as he contemplated what they were about to do.

Sam opened her thighs and allowed him to slide the panty down and off. Then she waited, wondering what he'd have her do next. Would he have her get on her knees? Did he intend to take her from behind or what?

But instead of hearing him ask her to move, she felt his hot, wet mouth kissing her butt...first one mound and then the other, while his long fingers massaged her thighs in long, gentle strokes. Sam relaxed more and more under his ministrations, giving into the delicious sensations of his slightly callused hands on her smooth flesh. He knew just how to touch her...just how much pressure to use to arouse her, and soon Sam felt her fluids seeping from her and running down her inner thighs.

She was a little embarrassed at how turned on she had become, and tried to close her thighs so that he wouldn't see. But Jack was kneeling between them now, the coarse hair of his legs scratching and tickling her thighs, and she had no room to maneuver. He would know soon exactly how ready for him she was, so she just laid still, trying to relax as she felt his left hand grip her hip, while his other hand ventured into her moist curls from behind.

Sam moaned deep in her throat as she felt the long fingers of his right hand slipping and sliding through her vulva. With tender loving care he spread her swollen lips, stroking them and spreading her fluids all around, his hand becoming drenched in the slightly sticky wetness.

Sam's body convulsed at the first touch of his long, slender fingers to her sex, a gasp emanating from her lips. And then her head jerked up as she felt two long fingers sink deeply into her tight channel, sending a jolt like electricity directly to her brain. She bent her neck, her forehead pressing into the pillow. Sam's chest shook and her back arched, her stomach muscles locking as she felt the quick, unmistakable approach of her orgasm.

She cried out in shock as the muscles of her vagina clinched around his fingers, holding them snugly inside her as the waves of a strong climax rippled out from her womb and into the rest of her body. The delicious feeling seemed to go on and on as Jack rubbed the sides of her channel repeatedly with firm fingers, drawing out her climax. Sam was unable to think or move or say anything for several minutes, but finally her orgasm subsided, and she calmed down enough to speak.

"Oh, my God," she gasped as the realization of what had just happened dawned on her.

"You alright," Jack asked, his lips directly next to her ear, his body stretched out over hers.

She hadn't realized he had removed his fingers from her or that he was now laying on top of her, leaning on his elbows. When had he moved? How much time had passed? Had she blacked out?

"Yes! More than alright! I've just never come from vaginal stimulation before," she confessed, gasping for air, as her body remembered it's need for oxygen.

"Maybe that's because it wasn't ME doing it before," he said somewhat smugly, but he meant to say that it was because they had special feelings for each other. He hoped she understood what he meant to say, because as usual he wasn't very good with words.

But Sam understood Jack, as she most always did. He wasn't at all eloquent, but his simple statement spoke volumes about their attraction and feelings for one another.

"Yes, I think you're right! Now... do you suppose you could do that to me again? Just use something other than your fingers this time," she added breathlessly, reaching her long legs out behind her and stretching like a cat.

"I'll see what I can do, Samantha," he whispered in her ear, before lifting up and backing away from her.

He took the opportunity to study her nude form again, still not quite believing that she was really here with him...like this. God she was beautiful, he thought. He had always thought Sam was something special, but seeing her naked and spread out before him made Jack realize just how truly lovely she really was.

At first Sam felt the chill of the night air on her hot, sweaty body, but quickly that was forgotten when Jack grabbed both her hips and flipped her over onto her back. She giggled uncontrollably, and Jack shook his head, his voice a mock threat.

"What did I tell you about giggling, Captain," he asked as he climbed into the cradle of her thighs. He supported himself over her on one strong arm, as he pulled one of her long legs up around his slender hip. Jack was an aching mass of need, but he wanted to draw this out...make it last for both of them...and so he held himself at bay a little longer.

"Sorry, Sir," she said meekly, her arms coming around his neck, her fingers weaving through the hair at the back of his head.

"Well, you should be, and you need to be punished," he said salaciously, and Sam squirmed under him in anticipation, as his fingers again sought to plunder her depths.

"Hold still, woman," he hissed, and Sam stopped moving, waiting for the final assault on her body by this strong, virile man.

Sam had seen him in action plenty of times, and she knew his strength could be daunting to even the strongest of opponents, and so she trembled at the thought of him taking her. But at the same time she could barely contain her excitement and craving for him, as she felt his fingers probing her, circling her clit again and again till she thought she'd go mad.

"Just do it, damn it," she implored, her large, blue eyes looking black in the dim light.

"Oh, don't worry; I'm gonna do you, Carter," he assured her as he felt his balls tighten at the realization that he was finally about to fuck his 2iC.

Finding her even wetter than before, Jack gripped his throbbing staff and placed the tip at her tiny opening, while he lifted her hip with his other hand, adjusting the angle of her body. A momentary thought that this might hurt her flitted through his mind, but the impulse to breach her as quickly as possible was too overwhelming for him to ignore. With a force born out of many months of need and want, Jack thrust fully into her hot center, burying himself in her moist, tender flesh.

Sam and Jack cried out as one, their enraptured voices floating out over the hills surrounding them, joining the sounds of the concert as they filled the otherwise silent night air. But then, instead of moving, Jack just held still, looking down at her. Sam's eyes had closed when she first felt Jack enter her, but now her eyes flew open.

"Jack? Are you okay?"

He almost laughed. He had been about to ask her the very same question, and now here she was worried about him and how he was doing.

"Oh, ya, better than okay," he answered her, but he still didn't move.

"Then why don't you do something," she asked, rotating her hips a bit to let him know what she meant...not that there could be much doubt!

"I'm just enjoying being here...with you...in you," he told her.

"Me too, Jack! Me too!"

And then he began to move, initiating a steady rhythm of thrusts and rocking movements that soon had Sam's vaginal walls clinching and unclenching, his rock-hard erection massaged by their firm grip. The friction increased exponentially as Jack began to speed up his thrusts, and before long Sam felt the familiar seeds of another orgasm beginning to germinate deep inside her womb.

And Jack was getting very close too. In fact he was more than ready to release the tension that had been building in him for over an hour now. But like the gentleman that he was, he wanted Sam to come too. And to that end, he decided they needed to change their positions a bit. Jack pulled all the way out of her, and Sam reached for him, wondering what on earth he was doing.

"Put your legs up over my shoulders," he coaxed as he shifted his weight back onto his knees. He helped Sam do as he'd asked, and then he lifted her hips with his hands and leaned into her, driving his erection into her once more, seating himself even deeper inside her womb.

"Now you're gonna help me, Sam. Rub yourself for me, baby," he crooned, and Sam did as he asked as Jack continued his assault on her body. With no thoughts of embarrassment about masturbating in front of him, Sam began to rub and flick her clitoris as Jack watched with hooded eyes. And it wasn't long before the release she had been expecting broke free and took her body by storm, sending her spiraling down into a deep, rapturous abyss.

And as Jack witnessed her climax, he allowed himself to surrender to his deepest, most primitive urges...thrusting frantically and with great force into her willing body. With a loud cry that bespoke the enormity of his love for her, Jack came hard, feeling like everything he was, or ever could be, had just spilled into Sam's willing body. He felt a connection to her that he had felt only once before in his life, and Jack had a sudden inclination to tell her now what was in his heart, or risk regretting for the rest of his life that he had not.

"Sam, I love you," he gasped as he thrust forward one last time.

Slowly Jack helped her lower her legs from his shoulders, and then he crawled up next to her before falling onto his back. Sam turned toward him, and Jack put one arm around her and cuddled her to his side.

"Say it again, Jack," she begged.

"What?" Jack's brain had all but shut down, after the force with which he had come sapped his all his strength, both physical and mental.

"When you came, you said..."

Sam really didn't want to have to remind him. What if he'd said it only in the heat of the moment? What if he didn't really meant it? What if he was sorry he'd said it?

"Oh, that," he said as he recalled his admission of love. The words had surprised him, and at first he was reluctant to repeat them.

He had never been one to say those words...very often, if at all. In fact he could still remember his ex-wife Sara complaining, because he never said them to her. It wasn't that he hadn't felt them, he just couldn't bring himself to give up that much control.

Yes, Jack had to admit that it was control which he hated turning over to anyone...his ex and present commanders could vouch for that, he thought with some regret.

But here was Sam...the woman he loved...yes, damn it, he loved her more than he thought he'd love anyone ever again!...and she was asking him to say those words to her one more time. And suddenly he found he could not disappoint her, no matter how much the words scared him.

"I love you," he said quietly, the words rumbling deep in his throat.

"Wooohooo," Sam shouted, sitting up and pounding her small fists on his chest.

"What?" Jack gave her a shocked look, as if she had suddenly lost her marbles...gone totally wacko.

"This means I might finally get a life!"

"Well, I guess it does, if you return my feelings, Sam," he asked, sounding slightly disgruntled that she had not declared her love for him...even though he had bared his soul to her.

"Oh, I return them all right! I have loved you, Jack O'Neill, since that time on P2X-305 when we were stuck in that damned ice cave and thought we were going to freeze to death."

"But as I recall, you later told me that I thought you were my wife...er...ex-wife."

"Yes, you did. And when you called me by her name, I knew the one thing I would regret most of all was that you'd never call me by MY name. That was when I knew I loved you, Jack," she admitted. "That's why I asked you if you had any regrets. I was hoping you'd say something about caring for me. If you had, I was going to tell you how I felt."

"I'm sorry you didn't tell me anyway, Carter...Sam."

"Why is that, Jack?"

"Because we've wasted all those months, when we could have been doing this," he said, pulling her down across his chest. With one hand holding the back of her head he drew her into a passionate kiss, his tongue doing a pretty good imitation of what another part of his anatomy had just done to hers. When they broke for air, both of them were panting and highly aroused.

"Wow!"

"Wow, INDEED," he boomed, in his best imitation of their teammate, Teal'c.

"So, Jack, now that I've got my guy, what about those kids?"

"We can start on number one as soon as you want, Sam."

"Good," she replied as she repositioned her body. It was time she took charge, she thought, and so she decided to begin right here and right now at getting a piece of the life she wanted.

"Whoa! What are you doing down there, Carter," Jack asked curiously as he felt her warm breath caressing him.

"Priming the pump, Sir."

"I can always rely on you to fix things, Carter," he said with a smirk.

THE END

AN: Go to MarieCaron. com to find out about my new e-book WHAT THE HEART WANTS. The characters were inspired by Jack and Sam and my love for them. Enjoy!


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